CRIME REPORT: Carjackers in southeast Memphis carry machetes

Machete-wielding men attempted to carjack a minivan and kidnap one of the vehicle's occupants as he tried to escape his attackers early Saturday morning.

The suspected carjackers, described as three Hispanic males carrying knives and machetes, approached and stopped a Dodge Caravan in the area of Getwell and Rhodes, said Chip Washington, public information officer for the Shelby County Sheriff's Office.

The three men inside the vehicle then attempted to escape. Two of them succeeded, but the other, Marco Morales, was grabbed by the suspects and pulled back into the van, which sped off.

Shortly after 7 p.m., a man riding an ATV discovered the van abandoned in a wooded area behind 1951 Hillsboro Cove, a mobile home complex in North Memphis, and called police. Shelby County investigators searched the van and found blood in the back seat and a bloody shirt on the ground outside the van. The shirt matched the description of the one Morales had been wearing.

Investigators began a search with cadaver dogs and helicopters to find him.

Police found Morales safe at a gas station near Getwell and I-240 Saturday night after receiving information that he had escaped from the van while it was still in Memphis. He was taken to The Regional Medical Center at Memphis and was treated and released with minor cuts and bruises, according to Washington.

The investigation is ongoing and all three suspects remain at large, said Washington.

Man killed in Jackson Avenue stabbing

Police responded to stabbing at a Jackson Avenue apartment complex late Saturday night to find a man lying in the front of the building with multiple stab wounds.

The victim was transported to The Regional Medical Center at Memphis in critical condition, but was later pronounced dead at the hospital, according to Alyssa Moore, public information officer for the Memphis Police Department.

During preliminary investigation, police discovered the victim was involved in a fight with several others when he was stabbed by one of them in front of a residence at 3835 Jackson, located in the Villages of Harrison Creek Apartments, said Moore. The suspect is believed to be male and Hispanic, she said.

No arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing, said Moore.